Friday, August 5, 2016

Anything But Cute August Challenge # 16-Shabby Garden Mood Board

Hello friends and visitors! It's time for a new challenge at Anything But Cute, and this time it's the talented and lovely Lisa who is hosting. She has chosen a Shabby Garden Mood Board, and I will give you more details on that in just a moment. But first, here is my wedding card I made for my one of my nieces-Edel and her awesome groom to be, Daniel.

Lisa has this to say about her Shabby Garden theme: For this challenge, we are asking you to take a stroll through a romantic shabby garden. Create any mixed media project strongly inspired by the mood board. Think flowers and plants in cracked pots, peeling paint bird feeders, distressed timeworn furniture, crumbling statues, soft pastels and feminine accessories. Don't forget to tell us how the mood board inspired your project and have fun!

As you can see I was inspired by Lisa's beautiful mood board--specifically the soft colors, peeling paint, window panes, hearts, filigree and the sense of romance. I would love to live in a place that looks like this!

Here are a few close ups of my card; I will give you the how-to's at the end of my post. The pink dimensional flowers are hand made using Tammy Tutterow's Shabby Posies and Tim Holtz' Tattered Florals. I colored them with Ranger Antiquities ink in Claret. The foliage is Tim Holtz' Spring Greenery and Tattered Lace's Ornate Leaves colored with Distress inks in Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint and Forest Moss. The chippie heart is from Michael's and is painted with gesso. Pearl strand, flower stamens, white silk flowers and lace are from my stash. The butterfly and deep pink roses peeking out are die cuts by K and Company and I've tucked in a Memory Box Quinn Flourish under the flowers.

The chippie birds from my stash were simply painted with Distress Picket Fence Crackle paint. I'm at the end of my jar, and this stuff is so thick I didn't think it would crackle, but looks better than when it was fresh. I "tied the knot" with embroidery thread and Stiffen Stuff fabric stiffener. That's my favorite part about this card!

I love the background paper--I found it in my stash from a LONG time ago--"love, honor, cherish". I couldn't decide to ink it with Weathered Wood, Frayed Burlap or Bundled Sage, so I blended on all three colors. I also found a **working** sewing machine in the back of my sewing cabinet, and put that to use around the edges. Special thank you's and hugs to my dear teamie Anne, who helped ease my fears over this. She's written a fabulous tutorial on adding sewing to your artwork here. I dyed some of the cheesecloth with the Claret ink.

Sizzix Curly Gate makes the window topper and Tim Holtz Window and Window Box die makes the window. I cut two of each and layered them together for extra body. I painted them following a similar method as the barn wood panels behind them. Instructions follow.

Instructions for barn wood panels:

1. Paint card with Distress paint, Ground Expresso. Don't worry about how even it looks--the more uneven the better.
2. Rub Distress Micro Glaze with your finger over random areas on the card, keeping strokes vertical for wood grain.

3. Brush on a coat of DecoArt White Wash acrylic paint and wipe off with a clean cloth.

4. Brush on DecoArt Weathered Wood and allow to dry. (Sorry, no pics for this and the following steps.)
5. Brush on a second coat of White Wash, dry and sand back.
6. Cut into strips and edge with Ground Expresso Distress ink.
7. Adhere strips to a base card cut to desired size.

Here is a photo of the completed panel.

I just had to show you a shot of the window frame and topper by themselves, since they got covered up with flowers and birds. Love the chippy peeled paint look.

Instructions for window frame and topper:

1. Paint die cut with Ground Expresso paint and heat dry.

2. Rub in Micro Glaze over random areas.

3. Apply thin coat of gesso and dry partially.

4. While gesso is still partially wet, press with a clean paper towel and quickly remove to peel off some of the gesso. Heat dry.

5. Apply Crackle paint randomly and allow to dry.

6. Apply coat of Ultra Matte to protect the crackle.

Here's a little tip to get more out of your craft stash. If you are like me, you can't turn down a clearance sale.I fell for some deeply discounted K and Company die cuts years ago. I never use them, for whatever reason. In this case, the blue just didn't fit into my color scheme. Below you will see the one I chose from the pack as shown on the package. I simply painted over the blue with white acrylic paint (or it might have been gesso) and colored with my water pen and Seedless Preserves Distress marker and Wilted Violet Distress ink.Not perfect but it will mostly be covered anyway.

Here's one last look at my card. I hope you will pop over to Anything But Cute to see all the amazing Shabby Garden projects my talented teamies made. I hope you will be inspired by Lisa's mood board and enter our Shabby Garden challenge. You've got an entire month to play along!

Wow Sara, I am over the moon for your shabby garden card! Your garden has everything! Flowers, birdies, a window with a view, and tons of foliage! I want to shrink down and take a walk through your delightful card! Your crackle effect is amazing and looks so natural on the window pane! I just love the little sprays of pearls you included too, what a soft touch amid all the rustic bits. Have I mentioned how much I love pink!! lol. I really enjoyed watching your process too, some great techniques here, bookmarking this one for sure! You really created a masterpiece and totally rocked the mood board! LOVE! sending hugs :)

This is such a great post Sara, I have bookmarked it so that I can remember how you did those two fabulous 'wood' techniques. I just love those crackled birds and your flowers and foliage are drop dead gorgeous!!! Your niece and fiance are one lucky couple to be receiving such a stunning card! Thanks too for the shout out my dear friend! Hope you have a lovely weekend. Hugs, Anne xx

Sara, this is one of my absolute favorite projects EVER from you! Lisa has inspired such spectacular creations... I just cannot stop enjoying all of the masterpieces. The lovebirds are stunning and I adore your wood work and shabby detailing! The flowers are gorgeous and I simply love every facet. Thank you for the endless inspiration within this post, my friend! And thank you for sharing your process, too! Wishing you a sparkly happy weekend. :o)

This is not just a wedding card, Sara - it's a treasured keepsake your niece will hold precious in her wedding album. Those crackled details in the doves, and pretty whitewashing in the background layers remind us of the layers of love - that love weathers time and hardship - and the window is a beautiful glimpse into the future - gosh, the future arrives before we know it, doesn't it? And it makes the love of our dear ones even more precious. Thank you for showing the close-ups and how you created the project! hugs, de

This is simply the most beautiful wedding card I've ever seen, Sara Emily!! It's both a card and a gift in one!! Wow!! My jaw is sore from dropping after each picture as I scrolled down your post!! I just absolutely adore every single detail!! The wood background is amazing!! I'm so excited I have some Distress Glaze so I can try it!! Thank you for the instructions!! And the window frame and topper - shabby chic perfection!! I love the tip about using items in your stash that you normally wouldn't use...I never would've thought to paint over to match colors - genius!! I love, love this my sweet friend!! It makes me happy to look at!! Thank you for bring the mood board to life!! Have a great weekend!! Big hugs :)

Ooooooh, this is a jaw dropping piece of art, Sara! It's definitely my new favourite of yours, my sweet friend! I adore your cracked dows with that little knot! Amazing idea! I love, love, love every single inch, from your amazing wood background to that super cool windoe! Thank you so much for sharing your awesome techniques! I am going to bookmark this for the future reference, for sure! You really nailed that challenge mood board with this spectacular wedding card! Have a wonderful weekend! Big hugs to you! Branka xx

This is amazing! I LOVE this wedding card! The details are so beautiful! The love birds at the top of the window are so adorable with the pink ribbon knot! I love the weathered look of you wood background and all those beautiful flowers! Thanks for sharing with us at Scrapy Land Challenges!

Hi Sara...what a beautiful garden you created on your card. The weathered background is stunning. It's perfect perfect for my Hot summer days theme over at Country View. Thanks for joining in with the fun xx

Dear me and a hand basket! This is totes fantabulous and smashingly shabbyliscious dearie. That wood paneling is on my to try list for 100% sure. Hot diggity! Your window frame with the added filigree on the top is beautiful but to me, the icing on the wedding cake is the detail of the tied knot! Genius and so very special. I bet the recipient will love this card and frame it to hang in their house. Fantabulous and awesome sauce! Hugz to you muffin! ~Punkin

You definitely win post of the year with this bad boy! What a great big bunch of useful tips and mixed media treasures! Let alone your fabulous project! Wow, you really nailed it and I think this card needs to be framed. I hope your niece is a person who appreciates handmade. She is one lucky lady! I adore the old wood effects and the gorgeous flowers, so perfectly shabby and gardenesque. Really love this, Sara Emily! Great job!

Oh, Sara Emily!!!! This is a pure work of art! I was immediately drawn in by the crackled birds and that sweet little knot (lovely touch!) but then I saw the window frame...and the barn wood and my pulse began to race. This is so perfectly composed...every single element is exactly where it belongs. And the color palette is perfection. Nothing jangles, nothing looks out of place. It's harmonious and romantic and oh, so shabby chic. Bravo, my friend! This is a new favorite for me! xoxo

Oh wow, Sara Emily, this is gorgeous! Your niece and fiancé are so lucky to receive this soft and romantic treasure! I love everything about it - your birds tying the knot are just precious :-) Your flowers are always outstanding, just love them! It's just an overall WOW piece of art. Thank you for sharing your how-to's also :-)

Sara, This is amazing art work. I love to see mixed media like this, you're so talented . My favorite part is all the crackle, chippy paint. So vintage! Thank you so much for joining us at Word Art Wednesday! Blessings,Misty D. WAW DT

Gorgeous wedding card, Sara!! I would never have guessed card, it is so wonderfully 3D. Love the soft colors and your shabby effects are marvelous!! Thanks so much for joining us this week at Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge! hugs, maura

WOW, this is such a stunning card and fabulous creation! You have mastered the technique of shabby - love the tutorial!! Thanks for sharing your amazing project with us for the August challenge at Paper Sweeties!

Sara this is gorgeous! So many of my favourite things. the layers and textures, and that wonderful crackle. You are the queen of shabby chic! Thanks so much for joining in with our challenge at Country View Crafts. Sue xx

Oh, my!! Your project is absolutely amazing!! It definitely looks like a shabby gorgeous garden! Love the birds and beautiful flowers! Thanks so much for joining us for the challenge this month at Paper Sweeties! Please come back soon!

This is stunning, Sara. It has so many soft, romantic touches and you have put so much detail into this lovely project. Thanks so much for stopping by to share your talents with us. I hope you enjoy playing along, and that you will join us again real soon.God bless your week!KarenWord Art Wednesday

Your piece is absolutely stunning Sara Emily! The colours are beautiful together and I love the crackle on the birds. Thanks for playing along with us on the Southern Ridge Trading Company Blog!-Katelyn DT member at Southern Ridge

Gorgeous! Sara Emily and so befitting of the challenge theme. Love all the distressed weathered wood work creating the perfect setting for you lovely crackled birds and beautiful fauna. I bet the bride and groom Loved/ will love it . hugs x